The Second Book of the Kings

Chapter 24

Jerusalem is besieged and taken by Nebuchadnezzar—Many of the people of Judah are carried captive into Babylon—Zedekiah becomes king in Jerusalem—He rebels against Babylon.

1 In his days aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.

2 And the Lord sent aagainst him bands of the bChaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to cdestroy it, according to the dword of the Lord, which he spake by his servants the prophets.

3 Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the asins of bManasseh, according to all that he did;

4 And also for the innocent blood that he ashed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon.

5 ¶Now the rest of the acts of aJehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

6 So aJehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.

7 And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.

8 ¶Jehoiachin wasaeighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother’s name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

9 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.

10 ¶At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was abesieged.

11 And aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants did besiege it.

12 And aJehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of bBabylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign.

13 And he acarried out thence all the btreasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the cvessels of gold which dSolomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said.

14 And he acarried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and bsmiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

15 And he carried away aJehoiachin to Babylon, and the king’s mother, and the king’s wives, and his officers, and the bmighty of the land, those carried he into ccaptivity from Jerusalem to dBabylon.

16 And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and craftsmen and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.

17 ¶And the king of Babylon made aMattaniah his father’s brother king in his stead, and changed his name to bZedekiah.

18 aZedekiahwas twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

19 And he did that which wasaevil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

20 For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that aZedekiahbrebelled against the king of Babylon.